My Wishlist

Natural Ball

It's a raw and nasty collection of crowd-pleasers set down on CD for the first time by Bobby with his tighest trio yet.
If you're tired of over-produced records with too many overdubs and too many players, you'll want this blast of pure blues power.

Genre: Blues: Chicago Style

Release Date: 2004

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ABOUT THIS ALBUM

Album Notes

"Those of you who love Blues, guitar, powerful soulful vocals, a tight rhythm section, and the West Side Chicago sound that has inspired so many of the best Blues players, will be thrilled to know that Bobby Radcliff's got something hot and new for you."
- Bob Margolin on BluesWax.com

"His fingers are someday going to spontaneously burst into flames during a solo. If you don't agree that Bobby Radcliff is one of the greatest guitarists walking the earth today, then you're stupid. So there."
- Andy Glass in "The Musicians Exchange"

BOBBY RADCLIFF is New York's finest Blues Guitarist. This CD shows the versatility of Radcliff far more than his previous releases. It's a raw live recording just like his live show. No overdubbed organs & horns like most of his BlackTop Records discs. It gets down to the true artistry of Bobby Radcliff. Radcliff is a guitar wizard who's playing is as unpredictable as it gets. One hears the roots of Westside Chicago with a blend of Funk, Jazz, and even Reggae. The production is truely raw (only reason i didn't give it a 5 star), but then again its refreshing to hear a perfect representation of the live show. I have seen Radcliff many times and this is exactly what he sounds like live. A must for any blues guitarist.

A great Bobby Radcliff CD. Right from the 1st song, Natural Ball to the end is another masterpiece from Radcliff. I love the remake of Hard Road to Travel, a great blues song. I highly recommend this CD for any blues lover and if your a Bobby Radcliff fan, you already own it.

If I had to pick one word to describe "Natural Ball", I'd probably go with "funky". Despite being predominantly rooted in blues music (especially West-Side Chicago), the songs Bobby chose for this record are played with such soul and feeling laid over snappy, often-danceable rhythms that it's hard not to classify them as funky. This isn't a coincidence. In his live shows, Bobby loves when people come out to dance and enjoys playing James Brown's "Sex Machine". :-)

This album's material has both covers and originals. The originals are very creative and engaging, especially the uplifting reggae-blues "Finally Found Myself" and the more traditional and biting "Lover Death Zone". Other originals are comprised of funky and quick guitar workouts: Bobby Radcliff is a remarkably fast hand on guitar, and these songs are a clear showcase of that. His thoughtful bluesy-jazzy improvisations are notable and should be great listening to the fans of electric guitar.

The covers on this album benefit from extensive interpretation and reworking. Indeed, Bobby is a brilliant interpreter, and he essentially makes cover songs his own in how creatively he weaves his style and sound signature into them, redefining the original song in the process. Some of my favorite covers are the incredibly soulful "Hard Road to Travel" and the intensely raw "Feel So Good", and the funky "Chicken Heads".

Bobby Radcliff is joined by his long-time associate Chris Matheos on bass and by Keith Hurrell on drums, with whom he plays a lot of his live shows in NYC area. This album has been recorded "live in studio", and the band is very tight.

I highly recommend this album for the remarkable talent involved. Bobby is clearly one of the top guitarists in the world, and the rest of the band are very impressive as well. This is the music in the grand American tradition of the golden years (60s, 70s). I also highly recommend seeing Bobby Radcliff live -- his shows are explosive, and if you get to talk to him afterwards, he's like a blues encyclopedia/history book.

Check out Bobby's latest record called "Freaking Me Out" too, as well as "Live at the Rynborn". Bobby really is an amazing musician and a heck of a nice guy all around.

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